High-school football: Granville's spread produces success

Friday

Sep 20, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 20, 2013 at 9:10 AM

Equipped with strong-armed quarterback Scott McMullen who played at Ohio State, Granville began in the mid-1990s to dabble with spread formations within its pro-set offense, even as traditionalists wrote off the spread as a fad.

Steve Blackledge, The Columbus Dispatch

Equipped with strong-armed quarterback Scott McMullen who played at Ohio State, Granville began in the mid-1990s to dabble with spread formations within its pro-set offense, even as traditionalists wrote off the spread as a fad.

By 2001, coach Mike Hensley and his staff had fully committed to the spread, teaching its concepts all the way to the pee-wee level. Now, Granville is no longer alone in using a hurry-up, no-huddle offense with as many as five receivers, but the Blue Aces remain the standard-bearer in central Ohio.

“When we decided to make our big change, Mike and I went to West Virginia when Rich Rodriguez was there and absorbed all we could,” said Granville coach J.R. Wait, who was elevated from offensive coordinator in 2009 when Hensley retired. “We also studied Northwestern, who had some success with the spread.

“The whole idea was predicated on maximizing what you have and downplaying your weaknesses at the same time. We concluded that our program usually had smaller linemen and good skilled, athletic kids who were smart. Mike was a lineman, and he was a natural at coaching up those guys and teaching them to get out in space and pass protect. The rest just sort of evolved.”

In the past decade, Granville has produced a long line of all-state quarterbacks and receivers with eye-popping statistics. The Blue Aces have won roughly 70 percent of their games and reached the playoffs five times.

As Granville (2-1) prepares to open its Licking County League schedule tonight against Johnstown (2-1), first-year starting senior quarterback Isaac Maurer has completed 60 of 94 passes for 1,139 yards, with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Already this season, Maurer has set a Granville record with 404 passing yards in a victory over Heath, a game in which Alderman set a receiving record with 265 yards.

“I grew up watching Cory Becher, Kyle Decker and David Fraley, so I already had plenty of training in what my role in this offense is,” Maurer said. “It’s a huge honor to earn the title of starting quarterback, especially here.”

Wait was confident that Maurer would be able to take the torch from Fraley, a two-time player of the year in the Central District.

“Although Isaac was a little short on experience, he’s a classy, intelligent kid and we had a good feeling about him,” he said. “We put a lot on him as far as making calls at the line of scrimmage, but he has really made the most of his chance.”

Alderman and Hill stretch defenses with their speed and athleticism. Orth runs shorter, more precise routes and is reliable on third downs.

“Each of them brings a little something different to the table,” Maurer said.

Even with so many teams now using a spread, many still have difficulty defending it. Wait said most Granville games begin with a feeling-out process.

“I think there’s still some shock value,” he said. “The thing is, we have no idea how people will try to defend us and it takes us some time to adjust. One of the key elements of the spread is identifying defenses, making the call at the line of scrimmage and exploiting what’s there.”

There still is a faction of coaches that insist the spread breeds a finesse mindset that transfers to defense. And it is fact that Granville, despite its impressive offensive statistics and all-Ohio skill players, has yet to win a playoff game.

“We do some unconventional things, but we’ve stuck with this so long, the kids are very comfortable and confident in how we go about business,” Wait said. “I feel that a lot of teams are willing to try concepts of the spread, but they’re not willing to go all-in and marry it. … For better and for worse, we’re married to it and are completely invested in it.”

sblackledge@dispatch.com

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